Chapter 48 Under The Lens

Chapter 48 Under The Lens
Sloane’s POV

‘All of this wouldn’t have happened if you had just come home to be with me.’

I shook my head no.

‘No, Arthur, you never loved me. You never fought for me.’

‘Baby, you know it was never about that. You were too caught up in the crossfire of fame, hence you forgot that I existed. I had to remind you that once upon a time, I was the love of your life. You left me for that weirdo, and now you’re tainted.’

Arthur’s words hurt deeply. Deeper than I could ever imagine.

‘I’m sorry if my words hurt you, but, someone has got to talk some sense into you.’ 

His words hurt even more. Like a knife lodged in my chest. I couldn’t breathe.

Arthur stepped close to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. Shivers wracked up my spine as my breath hitched.

‘I miss you so much, babe.’ He said, wrapping a hand around my waist and pulling me closer. His lips landed on mine, and….

“Leave me alone!” The scream tore free from my throat as I sat up straight, my eyelids flickering open as I looked around me, taking in the state of my surroundings.

The fleece Lakers hoodie, the ache I felt on my arm and on my calf. The weird feeling on my lip.

Doing what I should have done the first time I saw you. Fuck being respectful. 

His words played in my mind like I rehearsed it. I still felt the ghost of his hand on my skin.

Malik’s POV

By the time I heard her scream, I was running up the stairs with my bad leg. 

When my eyes landed on her, beads of sweat cascaded down her forehead. I could see the steady rise and fall rhythm of her chest from where I stood. Her hands were once again shivering. 

Immediately, I ran to where she sat, taking her small hands in mine while I did my best to calm her down.

“Look at me, Sloane.” I ordered and she did. “You’re okay. I promise.” I assured her and she nodded as though she believed me even though I knew that routine would continue.

She stared at the wall blankly, and so, I sat in bed and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close to me so that her head was pressing against my chest.

It was funny how I was playing therapist when I was the one who needed help the most. Now wasn’t the time to unravel my secrets, though. It was all about Sloane.

“You’re fine, okay?” I asked while I patted her back.

Just when she started to calm down, my phone rang loudly, causing the little bit of peace I had instilled to vanish.

“Fuck!” I muttered, stepping away.

“Give me a few minutes.” I accepted the call and walked out of the room.

“What?”

“Look, I don’t care if you and her are having a good time, we’re trying to clean up your image. You respond to me when I text you, okay?” Elena’s voice was audible and it made my blood fucking boil.

“You are not the boss of me, and so you do not speak to me in that manner.” 

There was a pause. As though she was shocked I was on the defensive side.

“Umm…”

“Go straight to the point. I was doing something very important before you called.”

“The doctors have been reviewing your scan documents. We are currently very happy with the progress so far, but you know that the public has yet to hear anything from you in a while. It’s getting a bit too dry, Malik….”

“And wait, lemme guess. You came up with an idea and Sloane and I are supposed to shoot a recovery vlog and she’s supposed to show the whole world how she is a dutiful girlfriend by how she supports me by giving me massages and icing my knee out?” I cut her off.

“Why are you acting like we forced this on you? Malik, you agreed to this deal as well.”

“Please tell me what your spontaneous plan is. I haven’t got all day.”

There was a pause again.

“Okay, so the plan is for the both of you to go to Griffith park. We’ve rented it for the whole day, but there’ll be some staged people there. I need the whole world to know that she cares. We need to see her in her girlfriend element. We need to see her caring for your knee. We need to see her feeding you. The camera crew will be there.” Elena said to me, and God knew I was done.

“Okay.” I cut the call before she could say anything else.

“What are we playing this time around?” I heard a voice. My head reared in the direction of the voice and I almost jumped in terror when I found her standing not too far away from me, a smile plastered on her face.

“She wants the world to see that you’re playing the dutiful girlfriend during my recovery.”

“Fuck it. Let’s do it.” Sloane said, rubbing her hands together.

My eyebrows contorted in shock because…. Wasn’t she crying a few moments ago?

Maybe Sloane Murphy was better at masking her emotions than me.


“Hi, guys. My boyfriend’s knee is fucked so I’m going to be playing with the kids today while my boyfriend sits and watches from the sidelines.” Sloane announced, giggling into the camera.

“Who the fuck is watching from the sidelines? I’m gonna whoop your ass!”

“Fuck no, you aren’t. Now, sit your ass down and let me play the game!” She instructed me and on my ass I sat.

A member of the camera crew tossed the ball in her direction, but Cipher, a young boy in one of the foundations I frequented, caught the ball, dribbled it past Sloane and dunked heavily.

“Yeah, Cipher. Beat her ass!” I yelled from the sidelines and everyone laughed out loud while she rolled her eyes. God, I was enjoying every bit of this.

The game went on and on and it was just moments and moments of laughter. 

Gone was the Sloane of last night and present was the Sloane I had always known.

At that moment, I could not help but picture her as a mother running around with my…

What the fuck?

Sloane would rather walk on hot coals than have children with a man like me.

“Everyone, gather around. It’s time for group pictures.” The cameraman announced and up I got.

I walked straight to where she stood and she threw her arms around me, standing on her tiptoes.

I leaned closer and our lips locked. She stared into my eyes so intimately. This moment felt so sacred. As though every member of the crew had to vacate the area so that we could have the time of our lives right on this grass.

“How’s your knee?” She whispered.

“It hurts a bit, but nothing some pain meds wouldn’t relieve.”

“I promise to make it better when we’re alone.” She winked at me. 

For a moment, I wanted to ask her what she had done to Sloane Murphy. The real Sloane Murphy.

“They need to get a room. What the fuck?” I heard Elena’s voice.

“I think we should wrap this up.” One of the crew members said. 

“Alright, guys. That’s a wrap. You can proceed to get a room to continue your activities.” 

Sloane stepped away from me very quickly. The light in her eyes disappeared. She looked like the dejected and terrified woman I had to watch go to bed last night.

“I need to go and use the restroom.” She announced before walking away very swiftly.


Sloane’s POV

I had never wanted to leave a place so damn badly in my entire life.

As I washed my face, I stared at the mirror with one question on my mind.

Why?

I washed my whole face as though it would erase the memory of everything that happened.

“Sloane, are you good there?” I heard Malik’s voice. Biting my lower lip, I looked around me.

“I’ll be out in a minute, I promise.”

Or so I thought. 

My phone pinged loudly.

I picked it up from the top of the washbasin, unlocked it and stared at the screen.

I froze immediately.

Seeing a ghost was better than what I was seeing.

Unknown number : Attached image of Sloane kissing Malik.
Princess, does he know that barely twenty four hours ago, those lips were on mine. You can’t keep giving what’s mine to him. 
Reminder: There’s a level to what a mortal man can take.

I lost my grip on my phone completely and before I knew it, it hit the tiled bathroom floor with a deafening crack, the screen shattering, but the text message remained, glowing brightly against the dark tile.